Parque Nacional del Teide Mountain Biking Trails

This is, without doubt, the icon of Tenerife. Teide National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 under the Natural Asset category. It also boasts a European Diploma awarded by the European Council, and it is part of the Natura 2000 Network Sites. The Park is well deserving of such acknowledgements. Firstly, it boasts the broadest sample of supra-Mediterranean vegetation on Earth. Secondly, it covers one of the world's most stunning volcanic landscapes – and certainly the most outstanding in the Canary Islands.

Teide National Park lies right in the middle of the Island, at an altitude of 2,000 m (6,500 ft) above sea level, topped by Spain's highest peak at 3,718 m (12,198 ft). These record-breaking figures add to the fact that it is the most visited national park in Europe, welcoming some three million visitors a year.

From a geomorphological point of view, this place is one of nature's true wonders. The structures of the caldera and the Teide-Pico Viejo stratovolcano are unique in the world. But its list of virtues does not stop there. With hundreds of cones, lava tongues and caves, it is the focus of much scientific and scenic interest. Not to mention its wealth of fauna and flora, which includes a significant array of endemic Canarian species and several others that only live in the Park.

Teide National Park was created in 1954 in recognition of its volcanic and biological singularity. Covering roughly 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres), it is the largest and oldest out of all the national parks in the Canary Islands. It has a peripheral protection area and is surrounded by Corona Forestal Natural Park, which covers an expanse of 46,612.9 hectares (115,183 acres), making this the largest protected nature area in the entire archipelago.